Monday, October 27, 2014

Chocolate improves memory-Madhee Moseman, P6


Chocolate improves memory

There has been a recent discovery and theory that the natural compound found in cocoa, tea, and some veggies serve to reverse age-related memory loss. The findings suggest that the compound increases connectivity and, subsequently, blood flow in a region of the brain critical to memory, the researchers said. The study — published online Sunday in Nature Neuroscience and partly financed by a chocolate company — found that flavanols reverse mild memory loss in older adults. Using brain scans and memory tests, the latest study built on previous work showing that flavanols extracted from cocoa beans had improved neuronal connections in mice’s dentate gyrus, a part of the brain involved in memory formation.
 

This is a neat way to look at eating chocolate as good, but this can backfire big time. Researchers have warned that the compound found in cocoa only exist in minuscule amounts in the average chocolate bar compared with the amount used in the study, so gorging on chocolate in the name of health and improving one’s memory could backfire. This would be able to make a lot of people happy, but sadly very unhealthy…

7 comments:

  1. This is helpful and beneficial in a health manner. The U.S. can be influenced socially as chocolate is popular in the U.S.

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  2. I think this is incredible and very fascinating because since Americans are becoming more and more obese as years go on, chocolate is becoming more categorized as junk food. But in glad people have found good in it and hopefully people will not abuse it for this particular cause.

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  3. This is interesting lol. I bet some people are going to still attempt to use this as an excuse to binge chocolate.
    -Kennedi Mayes

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  4. I love this a lot because chocolate is one of my favorite things in life. i am constantly eating it so my mind will probably be as sharp as a tack when i get older.

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  5. It's an interesting study, and many people would love to believe that eating chocolate could be immensely good for them. However, as you pointed out, only minuscule portions of chocolate are actually beneficial in the way the article explained.

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